Masterpiece Optimus Prime v2

When I finally got round to writing up the original Takara Tomy Masterpiece Convoy, I noted that it would be interesting to see the Masterpiece line revisit Optimus Prime after the live action movies, to see what improvements would be worked in. Little did I know (a) that they'd actually do that and (b) that, for the most part, the improvements would be very subtle - after all, when it comes to remaking G1 Optimus Prime, it's on a par with trying to reinvent the wheel.

When I first saw MP10, I wasn't especially impressed, and I certainly didn't rush to buy the Japanese version on import. Even when I learned that Hasbro would be releasing it - and particularly that it would be sold in the UK by Toys'R'Us - I just wasn't interested. I was perfectly happy with MP01, and the new version was smaller, lacking the extensive die-cast metal, and just didn't look as impressive overall.

However, regular readers of this blog will know that I make a habit of buying things I didn't expect - or indeed want - to buy. Seeing it in person, in one of my 'local' branches of Toys'R'Us caused me to throw caution to the wind and part with £100...

How big a mistake did I make..?

TransFormers Collectors' Club 2013 (Timelines) Breakdown

So far, the output from the TFCC Subscription Service has been variable. On the whole, I've basically got what I expected, though the last one, Circuit, was a pleasant surprise.

Breakdown, meanwhile, is a bit of a sore point. Most of the figures in the set are straight repaints, with a couple of remolded heads, but the molds delivered thusfar have all been fairly new and interesting (at least to me). Breakdown is not just the billionth re-use of the Sunstreaker/Sideswipe mold from 2008, it's been used for two Club Exclusives already, one of which was the G2 version of Breakdown, so his inclusion in the 2013 Subscription Service seems very cynical.

Still, it can't be all bad... can it?